The Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) standard of care aims to diagnose and prevent caries through the process of assessing patients' risk for caries by examining various health and lifestyle factors as part of their regular dental checkup.

The March issue of the Journal of the California Dental Association discusses opioid misuse and provides important concepts of substance-use disorders, pain management and prescription-medication diversion that dentists should consider. A comprehensive caries management guide for dental professionals to use in clinical settings will be included with the issue.

At the end of 2015, the state of California and the federal government reached an unprecedented agreement that will make an additional $740 million investment in California’s Denti-Cal program over the next five years. California has often made changes to its contract with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which governs the operation of the Medicaid program (Medi-Cal in California), with the goal to increase flexibility and funding for the medical services covered by the program.

The Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) standard of care is expanding internationally. CAMBRA, which aims to diagnose and prevent caries through the process of assessing patients' risk for caries by examining various health and lifestyle factors as part of their regular dental checkup, is garnering interest from oral health professionals in Japan.

CAMBRA, which stands for Caries Management by Risk Assessment, is a research-based, systematic approach to integrate caries risk assessment as a centerpiece of the dental practice. CAMBRA aims to diagnose and prevent caries through the process of assessing a patient’s risk for caries by examining various health and lifestyle factors as part of their regular dental checkup. When Jean Creasey, DDS, introduced the principles of CAMBRA into her Nevada City practice 13 years ago, she never envisioned the benefits reaped for her patients and the practice she shares with her husband, Craig Creasey, DDS.

Dentists interested in learning about and implementing Caries Management By Risk Assessments (CAMBRA) into their practices can take advantage of the new app developed by the UCSF School of Dentistry and Firsthand Technology Inc. The MyCAMBRA mobile app, available in the iTunes store, lets dentists perform a CAMBRA risk assessment right on their iPhone or iPad.

The CDA Foundation and the UCSF School of Dentistry are attempting to alter the way dentists prevent caries through a practice-based clinical trial, and volunteers are needed. The Caries Management By Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) Practice-Based Research Network formalizes the process to assess a patient’s risk for caries by examining various health and lifestyle factors as part of their regular dental checkup. The Foundation and UCSF are looking to expand an already established research network, which focuses on the implementation of CAMBRA.